NCJ Number
141035
Date Published
1991
Length
32 pages
Annotation
The effects of child sexual abuse and treatment techniques with adults molested at children are discussed, with emphasis on interventions used with female clients.
Abstract
The professional literature and programs have focused little attention on male victims of sexual abuse, although studies in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States estimate that 8-16 percent of men were sexually abused in childhood, usually by males. The prevalence and the later problems experienced by these males indicate the need for accessible and adequately evaluated intervention programs. Among women in clinical populations in various countries, estimates of the proportion abused as children range from 6 percent to 90 percent. Problems in adulthood include mood disturbances, suicide attempts, self-mutilation, drug abuse, eating disorders, isolation, insecurity, discord, inadequacy, post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, anxiety and panic disorders, psychosomatic disorders, sexual dysfunction, confusion regarding sexual orientation, vulnerability to rape, prostitution, and compulsive sexuality. Therapeutic interventions have been implemented in individual, couple, and group formats. 122 references